STINKER GAS STATIONS IMPLEMENT SENIOR PUMP HOURS

Stinker gas stations, in an effort to help our community’s most vulnerable, is implementing Senior Pump hours. Any Stinker that sits in an Albertsons parking lot will have employees available to pump fuel for senior citizens from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays. This time frame is scheduled to coincides with Albertsons Senior Hours.

IDAHO STEM ACTION CENTER LAUNCHES STEM@HOME INITIATIVE TO HELP PARENTS

BOISE — As schools and gathering places close worldwide to stop the spread of coronavirus, parents new to homeschooling or just trying to keep young, active minds engaged during social distancing and self-isolation have a new ally.

The Idaho STEM Action Center has launched STEM@Home, an information clearinghouse for free science, technology, engineering and math online learning resources. The agency has added a STEM@Home tile to its Resource Portal at resources.STEM.idaho.gov to make it easy to find activities, experiments, articles, curriculum and YouTube videos by age or grade or subject area.

The STEM Action Center will highlight fun activities for all ages via several daily posts on Facebook and Twitter. Follow the agency on Facebook at fb.com/IdahoSTEMAC and on Twitter at twitter.com/IdahoSTEMAC to view these posts, or search for #STEMatHOME in your newsfeeds.

In addition, one of the STEM Action Center’s media partners, CBS2, will stream a STEM experiment or activity live on Facebook at fb.com/CBS2Boise every weekday morning at 9 a.m. The STEM Action Center will share these streams as they happen, post details about the activity a half-hour later on its Facebook page and link to it via the STEM@Home portal.

Although STEM@Home was conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic, the STEM Action Center plans to continue offering the content once the crisis abates.

“It’s important to recognize learning happens everywhere, not just inside a traditional classroom,” STEM Action Center executive director Dr. Angela Hemingway said. “Our vision is that as schools reopen, our STEM@Home initiative will be ongoing to help kids bridge the learning gap during the summer through hands-on STEM activities.”

In addition to online resources, Dr. Hemingway said the agency intends to offer up suggestions for unplugged activities that don’t require an Internet connection.

MAKE-A-WISH IDAHO LAUNCHES NEW SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO ENCOURAGE KIDS WAITING FOR THEIR WISHES

BOISE — Make-A-Wish Idaho faces a record number of wishes waiting to be granted as a result of the recent need to postpone all wishes that involve travel due to the public and medical concerns of COVID-19. A new social media campaign, “Messages of Hope,” seeks to give supporters and the general public a fun and easy way to help children with critical illnesses without needing to leave the house.

As 77 percent of wishes involve travel, 970 wishes nationwide and 17 wishes through Make-A-Wish Idaho were immediately impacted with additional wishes being impacted every day. The challenging circumstances have inspired Make-A-Wish to think creatively about how to bring hope and joy to Make-A-Wish kids during unpredictable and scary times.

Make-A-Wish Idaho knows that the anticipation of a wish-come-true can be a powerful motivator for wish kids to face and overcome the challenges in their way. Through “Messages of Hope,” Make-A-Wish invites the public to spread hope and anticipation by writing, recording or photographing themselves delivering messages of encouragement for wish kids waiting for wishes impacted by COVID-19. Before sharing their messages, participants should consider a donation at Idaho.wish.org to prepare Make-A-Wish Idaho to grant the unprecedented number of pending wishes once normal operations resume. The last step is to post the messages to any social media channel along with the tag, @maw_idaho and the hashtag, #WishesAreWaiting. Two or more friends should also be tagged and challenged because the more messages shared, the greater the impact on wish kids and their families.

The announcement of “Messages of Hope” came exactly 40 days prior to April 29, known as World Wish Day. On World Wish Day, Make-A-Wish will mark the 40th anniversary of the wish that inspired the founding of the organization with noteworthy surprises and announcements. Until then, Make-A-Wish will spend the next 40 days highlighting some of the messages received on the official Make-A-Wish social media accounts. The messages will give wish kids and their families hope today so that they can look forward to tomorrow.

Learn more and help atIdaho.wish.org.

TRUST AWARDS $350K TO TERRY REILLY HEALTH SERVICES FOR NEW CALDWELL CLINIC

CALDWELL — The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has awarded a $350,000 grant to help Terry Reilly Health Services expand services in Canyon County. A new clinic is being built in downtown Caldwell and combines low-cost, high-quality healthcare with affordable housing for seniors.

“A key emphasis for the Murdock Trust is partnering with nonprofits that are proposing innovative solutions to address the unique needs of their local community. This project by Terry Reilly Health Services demonstrates a collaborative mindset, bringing solutions for both affordable healthcare and affordable housing to the growing population of Caldwell,” said Steve Moore, executive director, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. “We are grateful to nonprofits and community partners like Terry Reilly that think outside of the box and find new ways to serve the common good and promote community flourishing.”

The new building has already broken ground and will include four stories. The first floor will be home to a Terry Reilly clinic, providing integrated medical, dental and behavioral healthcare services for all. In addition, Terry Reilly has partnered with Cleveland Square LP to add 50 affordable housing units on the top three floors for individuals or families age 55 and older.

The combination of housing and healthcare will begin to address mounting needs in Caldwell, where nearly 500 families are on the waiting list for affordable housing, more adults lack dental care than in Idaho overall and nearly three times the number of children live at or below the poverty line compared to children statewide.

Terry Reilly purchased the historic Pennywise Drugstore building in downtown Caldwell in 2017 to expand medical and behavioral services while also bringing affordable dental care to Caldwell. The central location will serve an additional 3,055 patients within the first two years of opening in early 2021. The new clinic will nearly double capacity in Caldwell.

BOISE’S LIGHT MY FIRE INC. RECEIVES ANOTHER $5,000 DONATION

BOISE — Boise’s Light My Fire, Inc. a local organization who supports fire prevention education and emergency financial support to those displaced by fire disasters., was awarded another $5,000 to bring their total donation to $10,000 from Boise’s Ricketts and Associates, Inc. as part of Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance’s Make More Happen Awards for their commitment to community good will.

The $10,000 award will help Light My Fire fund the necessary materials that are used for fire safety classes for elementary schools for one year. The donation will also go towards their Burn-Out Funds program that can provide up to 13 families who have been displaced by a fire with temporary shelter and supplies such as clothing, medication, food, toiletries and more.